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Week 17 NFL Pickem: Ramping up or Packing Up?

December 28th, 2012 at 2:52 PM By Chuck Chapman

Thirty-two teams began training in late July with the hopes of getting to the Super Bowl. After this weekend, 12 will still have that hope alive while the other 20 will clean out their lockers and go their separate ways for the off-season.

This is always a bittersweet weekend in the NFL. For those 12 playoff teams, this week is celebratory, marking the achievement of a collective goal fueled by five months of sweat and effort. For those who came up short, it's a time for thinking about what might have been, and for many, a time to say goodbye as free agency, retirement and other roster changes will forever alter the locker room they've known this season.

The Indianapolis Colts know that there's going to be a next week. Steven and I will have one as well as we'll be providing our picks throughout the post season. For Steven, that represents a chance for a new beginning. Steven had an impressive 11-5 week last week, but still has surpassed the 100-loss mark for this year at 136-104. I went 12-4 bringing my record to 158-82 for the season. Even though our competition has been long-decided, here's who we have winning this week:

Tampa Bay at Atlanta- Steven: Buccaneers – "Atlanta head coach Mike Smith said they'll play to win. I'll believe it when I see it." Chuck: Falcons- "Even if Matt Ryan only plays a half, that will be plenty of time to put up points against an abysmal Bucs secondary."

NY Jets at Buffalo- Steven: Bills – "Would anyone really complain if we just went ahead and called this one a tie?" Chuck: Bills- "Fans who endure this game will have the additional burden of realizing they live in New York once the game is over. Pray for them."

Baltimore at Cincinnati- Steven: Ravens – "Pick your poison for Cincinnati, as a win could net you a possible rematch next week, but a loss could send you to New England or a return visit to Houston for the second year in a row." Chuck: Bengals- "This Cincinnati team is going to be a very tough out in the playoffs. Colts fans, you can scout the next opponent."

Chicago at Detroit- Steven: Bears – "My originally thinking involved Detroit not being able to lose every game, until I realized I was thinking about Detroit." Chuck: Bears- "The Jets have gotten all the press for being disappointing, but no team has underachieved this year like the Lions."

Houston at Indianapolis- Steven: Colts – "The home finale, coach Pagano returning and a heck of a lot of emotion goes into this win to gain momentum into the playoffs and a trip to Baltimore." Chuck: Colts- "ChuckStrong. Nuff said."

Carolina at New Orleans- Steven: Saints – "It's clear New Orleans underachieved, even without a head coach." Chuck: Saints- "The kings of what-might-have-been."

Philadelphia at New York Giants- Steven: Giants – "I'm going back to my theory of no team being able to win more when it needs to than New York. Too late though this year." Chuck: Giants- "Andy Reid deserves better than what his team and the city have given him. Here's hoping he ends up in San Diego next year."

Cleveland at Pittsburgh- Steven: Browns – "The air will have been deflated out of Pittsburgh, and Cleveland is still playing hard despite the losses as of late." Chuck: Browns- "They say that adversity reveals character. We've seen what that means for Ben Roethlisberger."

Jacksonville at Tennessee- Steven: Titans – "The bottom feeders of the AFC South were bad this season." Chuck: Jaguars- "I'm just not seeing any pride in the Titans right now."

Kansas City at Denver- Steven: Broncos – "Denver could win this with Brock Osweiler or Caleb Hanie playing at QB to get the top seed. What motivation does Kansas City have to play one more week?" Chuck: Broncos- "Denver will clinch home-field advantage on Sunday."

Green Bay at Minnesota- Steven: Vikings – "Minnesota knows what it can do and doesn't deviate from its formula. Adrian Peterson doesn't break the record, but guides his team to the playoffs where these two meet again in Green Bay." Chuck: Packers- "The Pack is peaking at the right time."

New England at Miami- Steven: Patriots – "To get to the Super Bowl out of the AFC, you're going to have to beat New England at some point. My favorite at this point to win it all." Chuck: Patriots- "The Pats may get Rob Gronkowski back this week. They need him. The offense is beginning to bog down without him."

Oakland at San Diego- Steven: Chargers – "Norv Turner's farewell game will be as ugly as his tenure." Chuck: Chargers- "Post game, Norv does Nixon- 'You'll not have Norv Turner to kick around any more."

St. Louis at Seattle- Steven: Seahawks – "No team will root harder for Minnesota and Arizona, as wins by both amazingly gets Seattle a bye. If it doesn't happen, they'll turn towards Dallas, who probably are the easier road match up for them." Chuck: Seahawks- "Don't think it will come down to this, but wouldn't it be hilarious if Seattle gets the bye over Green Bay by virtue of their tainted win with the replacement refs?"

Arizona at San Francisco- Steven: 49ers – "No team probably needs the bye more than San Francisco, so it needs to go all out to win this one. A loss and it could fall down to the fifth seed and a road game." Chuck: Niners- "Arizona will start their fourth quarterback of the season Sunday."

Dallas at Washington- Steven: Redskins – "No, no, no. I will not pick Dallas. No. No more. Dallas, go away. Please. Go away." Chuck: Cowboys- "Tony Romo will step up in a big way in this situation. He'll look awful in a first round playoff loss next weekend, but this week he'll be a hero."